


I am... Well It's Complicated

by OMGitsRDJ



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Assassin Tony Stark, BAMF Tony Stark, F/M, Gen, Hacker Tony Stark, M/M, Secret Identity, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Undecided Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-06-15 01:17:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15401772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGitsRDJ/pseuds/OMGitsRDJ
Summary: Tony Stark has a complicated life even without the secret identities mixed in. Will he be able to keep everything separate or will the trails lead back to him?(An AU starting with Iron Man and progressing through the movies. Tony never came out as Iron Man and also ended up with another identity.)





	1. Chapter 1

If you had asked Tony Stark what his life would be like five years ago or even five minutes ago honestly- he would never have guessed correctly. Not to say he's ever had what anyone would consider a "normal life" but leave it up to him to take it to the next level. What is the next level you ask? Well it includes being assigned a mission to capture yourself and possible allies... Also including yourself. Confused yet? Well to sum it all up he has three separate identities. First of all the arrogant playboy Tony Stark, next the beloved Avenger Iron Man and finally the infamous mysterious hacker/assassin The Mechanic. How did all of this come to be? Well...

Let's track this from the beginning.

Up until a couple years ago he just had the identity he was born with. Tony Stark the genius weapons manufacturer that the press love to hate. He certainly gave them plenty to talk about. Living it up with fast cars and faster women, partying and going on days long inventing sprees. He would've most likely continued that way forever if it wasn't for that unfortunate vacation in Afghanistan. Although it certainly wasn't a pleasant experience it was a blessing in a way. He had never expected the truth of the situation until he was living it. Those were his weapons hoarded by terrorists, being used to kill who knows how many innocents. Being used to kill the soldiers protecting him.

As he escaped that cave and vowed not to waste his life -thank you Yinsen- he was planning how to set this right. Plans are nice and all but it’s hard to compete with someone who apparently had many back up plans and had them set up for years. After the announcement to shut down weapons manufacturing Obadiah Stane wasted no time in removing him from the company. Sure he played the part well "good ole uncle Obie" watching out for Tony because he obviously had a mental breakdown but he was welcome to come back after "proper treatment". After the company was out of his hands all he had left were Rhodey and Pepper. Neither one of them understood for a while with Rhodey upset about the end of Stark weapons and Pep concerned for his health.

He spent those days looking into how his weapons got in the wrong hands and updating the suit he used to escape the cave. The search for answers was slow but he did catch a news report on an attack in Gulmira so he headed out to test his new creation. All in all his first mission was a success despite the scuffle with the Air Force. After peeling off the armor -a longer process than expected- and resuming the search he finally got some answers. Obadiah was the double dealer and more than that he planned the attack to kill Tony. Even worse he had been building a suit based off the remains from his prototype. There was no time to waste. He hoped he wasn’t too late. The suit was too damaged to put back on so he'd have to go face to face. Thinking it best not to spook him he dressed up like the man he used to be and brought a gun.

Stane was just leaving a meeting when he arrived. Many of the board members gave him looks of pity as they walked out. He was acting very glad to see Tony even if his eyes held something predatory. He managed to get Stane out to the roof for their private talk. It was easier than expected to get him to admit to everything. Most likely because he thought he had the power in that situation. He moved suddenly and Tony caught it just a second too late as he felt an impact in his chest. Expecting Tony to be bleeding out from a bullet wound, Obie continued on monologuing about his future plans. He even started asking Tony what his suit was powered by since he had never found out about the arc reactor embedded in his chest.

"Would you like to see it?" He asked as he opened his shirt revealing the glow of the arc reactor with a dent on the side where the bullet had hit.

"What the hell-" was all he got out before Tony pulled his gun and shot him with perfect accuracy in the head.

With JARVIS it was all too easy to go back in the security feed and edit his departure to be much earlier. Afterwards all he had to do was act confused and grieving. The next day all the hacked files showing Obadiah Stane's misdeeds were released by someone calling themselves The Mechanic. It was on every news channel for days and of course he was begged to return to lead his company that was left floundering. At that same time news began to spread about a metal robot saving civilians in war torn countries. The metal being had been given the name Iron Man.


	2. Chapter 2

After Stane's death things were hectic to say the least. Between the continued search and destroy of his weapons and his companies issues Tony was exhausted. Even more than exhausted it turns out. He was slowly dying from Palladium poisoning. On the upside his recent fixation on missions has kept him busy and started rumors that he's become a recluse. Why is this a good thing you ask? Well it gives a pretty good excuse for not coming to meetings for one thing. Therefore more time to save himself once again. There was still time devoted to R&D of course, but he got to work remotely since Pepper became CEO.

Pepper was unhappy -that's putting it VERY lightly- when she found out about the missions. There were a few weeks of tension and lectures about letting the professionals handle it. As one last try she sent Rhodey after him. Unfortunately for her he was immediately distracted by the suit and spent the day asking Tony to build him one too. Tony almost agreed before he realized all the issues that would cause. No one knew he was Iron Man -yeah the name grew on him- so there'd be some questions raised if someone else suddenly had a suit. Iron Man actually had a fantastic reputation at the moment but that's guaranteed to disappear if he has ties to Tony Stark. His platypus was disappointed but he understood. Pepper reluctantly accepted the change and took up the CEO position. There was some push back at first but she powered through and earned their respect. 

There was still the occasional story on "The Mechanic" but with so little information there was just speculation. The individual was believed to have murdered Obadiah Stane before releasing his crimes publicly. Many theories floated around believing The Mechanic to be a victim of Stane's double dealing. Possibly seeking revenge for lost friends and family members. They were right in a way but of course no one would consider Tony Stark to be a victim. In fact the press was trying to tie him in with Stane, citing as CEO he would have known. Perhaps if he was paying more attention back then he would have saved the world a lot of trouble. No use dwelling on it though, Tony has always been a futurist so he will just have to make up for it. 

He cuts it a bit close but he creates a new element for the reactor. There's hardly a moment to relax though as JARVIS alerts him to an emergency. Tony had heard from Rhodes that there was talk of attempts at recreating Iron Man for a military purpose. At the time he hadn't been too concerned about it. With Stark Industries out of the weapons business that left the government looking for a new contractor. Of all the choices they just had to choose Hammer didn't they? Apparently Hammer hired some outside help from a criminal named Ivan Vanco. What they created was not nearly as refined as Iron Man but impressive enough to get a demonstration. All was going well until Vanco took over the drones and starting attacking. As Tony swept down in the armor he saw Hammer looking terrified. He almost felt bad for the guy but who lets a criminal create the coding for heavily armed robotics? Yeah never mind Hammer is an idiot.

After destroying all the Hammeroids Iron Man was helping some civilians who were trapped when black SUVs came from every direction. Tony ignored it for the moment as he finished helping a woman clear the debris. When he finally glanced up people in black outfits had emerged and surrounded him.

"You guys do know I can fly right?" he asked glancing around to figure out what they wanted. A man with a trench coat and an eye patch stepped forward. Seriously who are these people?

"Oh we're very aware. You're a difficult man to get in touch with" The pirate said glaring at him.

He raised an eyebrow under the helmet. "How do you know I'm a man? I could be wearing a dress under here." 

Trench coat man just continued to glare without blinking. "I don't care. My name is Nick Fury. I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you probably noticed the first chapter was kind of an AU of the first Iron Man and this chapter was Iron Man 2 basically. So you know what's coming next haha.


	3. Chapter 3

****Tony was sifting through some of his recent ideas on the HUD when Fury finally entered the conference room. "Iron Man, you reported the mission successful so why have I received reports of an explosion?" Fury glared him down and Tony rolled his eyes behind the faceplate.

"The explosion was contained and didn't harm anyone other than the idiot that caused it" he answered. It had been a straightforward mission. A rogue group had somehow managed to steal SHEILD technology. All he had to do was knock them out and deliver them to Fury with the weapons. Should've been simple really since they didn't know how to use most of what they stole. As soon as they saw him they panicked, picking up whatever was close by and attempting to use it. Luckily they seemed to have terrible aim. One of them actually did most of the work for him by activating a gas bomb, knocking nearly all of them out.

At least one had run downstairs and escaped the gas, so Tony headed that direction. As he was halfway down the stairs there was a yell and then an explosion rocked the building. Using his scanners he checked for life signs but only found one body which was definitely no longer living. The explosion made the building unstable so he headed back upstairs to move the rest outside just in case. After shield arrived to gather the weapons and unconscious criminals, Tony was led to the conference room to debrief.

"That's not the point. Every detail must be included in the debrief" Fury replied still not blinking.  _Doesn't his eye ever get dry?_

"Alright look, about the debriefing my bad. I'm exhausted so if that's all I'd really like to go now." Not waiting for an answer he stood up and headed for the door. No one stopped him as he left so he must be good to go. After he had flown far enough from SHEILDs base he enabled stealth mode on his suit and headed home. Home had previously been his Malibu mansion for the most part. He still loves that house and visits occasionally but it’s far too tied to Tony Stark for him to stay long. Now he prefers some of his more subtle properties he had bought in the past if he needed to lie low.

A flat on the top floor of an apartment building has been his home of choice for the past month. Unfortunately there wasn't room for a lab in the building but it's not far from Stark Industries New York headquarters. Of course he had to make a secret entrance so everyone wouldn't see Iron Man calmly walk through the lobby but it works. It also has the added bonus of being where Pepper is most of the time.

Since the Afghanistan incident things had changed with their relationship. They'd been close before but Pep always made sure to keep a wall of professionalism up between them. After he got back the barriers between them seemed to be slowly melting and there was a spark. It all came to a head after the Hammer bot attack. Tony had finally come home after being ambushed by SHIELD -and had a long and very boring conversation- to see Pepper waiting for him clearly distraught. They had some banter, she yelled at him for being reckless, and before he knew it they were kissing.

All in all Pepper is one of the best things that ever happened to him. Her and Iron Man to be more precise. It’s really a shame that they don't go together very well. Pep was upset when she found out he had agreed to do missions for SHIELD. He had destroyed all of his weapons so he needed a new mission but he knew she was hoping he'd stop. Iron Man had become too big of a part of him to stop now; he hoped she'd accept that soon.

In fact at this point he didn't feel like Tony Stark anymore. Ok don't start thinking he went bonkers or something, he knows who he is. It's just he doesn't feel like playing the part he was forced into since he was a kid. In his teenage years he had just decided to embrace it and be who he was expected to be. Just a spoiled, promiscuous, playboy who happened to be a genius. He played the part so well at some point it wasn't fake anymore. He refuses to go back to that life again.

Tony Stark is now known as a recluse who hasn't been seen in nearly a year. Of course Tony has been seen... Just not by anyone -besides Pep and Rhodey of course- who knew who he was. He's taken to dying his hair blonde and wearing blue contacts when he goes out. Unfortunately his trademark facial hair had to go since it’s far too recognizable, but he can still get away with a less shaped beard at least. Anytime he has to show himself for the company's sake he does it over video call with preset software to make his hair brown and give him back his beard. For the most part the board seems to leave him be as long as he sends in new designs.

After changing out of the suit and taking a shower he decided to eat something. Ok fine JARVIS reminded him by locking him out of his lab until he had proper sustenance. Leaving the building he headed towards the closest place with cheeseburgers. As he was finishing up his second burger on the way back he saw some commotion up ahead. Moving closer he made out what looked like one man surrounded by black SUVs in the middle of the street. It was eerily similar to how SHEILD approached him and not a second later Fury steps forward with his trench coat waving menacingly.  _Seriously and people call me dramatic._

 He couldn't tell what they were saying but it didn't take long to convince the guy to leave with them. Shrugging it off he headed back towards the lab.  _If this guy is something important I'm sure I'll hear about it later. Probably in another long boring meeting ugh. Why is Iron Man having meetings now? I thought I got rid of that with Tony Stark._

JARVIS finally let him in his lab since he met the requirements  _that little traitor_. He greeted the bots and sat down to finally get to work when he got an incoming call.

"Sir this call is to the Iron Man line. It appears to be from Nicolas Fury." Sighing Tony put down the wrench he had just picked up.

"Alright J you know what to do. Turn on the voice filters." A moment later Fury's voice filled the lab.

"Iron Man you're needed back here tomorrow at 8 for something very important so don't even consider being late this time." You could practically see the glare through his voice.

"Well it'd be easier if you didn't make it so early. What's wrong with having an 11 o'clock meeting instead? Heroes need their beauty sleep you know? I mean-"

"Just be here tomorrow. On time." Fury cut him off before hanging up. Rude.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHEILD and their black SUVs ~sigh


	4. Chapter 4

Iron Man didn't show up at SHIELD until 9:30. Tony was trying to keep himself likeable in one identity at least but everyone has some flaws. Might as well give Iron Man this one because he is just not a morning person. As he clomped down the hall to the conference room he noticed it seemed like he passed by less people than usual. Maybe there was a big mission going on he didn't know about.  _Or they could just be playing hide and go seek to practice stealth. Who knows with spies._

His increasingly outlandish ideas stopped abruptly when he entered the room. Agent Coulson and another blonde haired man were bent over the table looking at something. Upon closer look he realized there were several Captain America trading cards lined up on the table.  _Okay... Not sure why we needed a meeting for this._  

"Hey agent was I supposed to bring my cards too? I wasn't informed." He finally spoke gaining their attention. Bright blue eyes snapped to him and Tony was very thankful he was in the armor as he floundered mentally with what he was seeing. He knew that face from Howard's old photographs. Although he has to say those black and white pictures have nothing on the reality. His old childhood hero Captain America was standing right in front of him. Tony was completely speechless which is quite a feat. 

It seemed he wasn't the only one; Cap was still staring at him with his mouth gaping open like a fish. Tony realized he still had that expression as well.  _Yep definitely thankful for the helmet I don't want that look to be my first impression on a national hero._  "Wow" the Captain finally seemed to breathe out.

"You've captured my thoughts exactly Cap" Tony finally replied trying to get his thoughts together. 

"I- I mean they told me about you but I never thought... Wow." Okay good to know he's just as thrown off about this. "Oh uh I'm Steve Rogers. It’s nice to meet you Iron Man." He reached out a hand and Tony accepted the handshake.

"Pleasures all mine ca- Rogers." They stood there just staring at each other for probably much too long before Agent cleared his throat.

"So now that you've arrived I guess we will be having this meeting today" Coulson said with a straight face. All these spies and their emotionless faces. Tony was about to retort with something when Fury entered the room glaring. Either he's always angry or that's his version of the blank spy look. 

"Oh good you've met now. Only took you an extra hour and a half. Let's get this over with." Everyone took a seat around the table except Tony since he'd break these flimsy chairs. "Now Iron Man has been with us awhile already so he is aware of this project." Fury slid a folder over to Rogers as he spoke. "We'd like you to be a part of this too captain." Rogers opened the folder and started skimming it.

"Avengers Initiative? Who else is on this team besides Iron Man?" Steve asked glancing at him once again.

"We have our eyes on a few individuals but it’s just been him until now. We could use you on the team Captain." The room was still and quiet for several moments while Rogers went over the information. All the while Tony was freaking out internally.  _They want me on a team with Captain America. How is this my life?_

"Alright, what do I need to do?" Steve asked shutting the folder. Both spies seemed to relax at his answer.

"You two will need to train together several times a week so you'll be ready for missions. You also have a lot to catch up on about the world in the past 70 years Rogers." 

"I'll be glad to help with that in any way I can Captain" Coulson said almost enthusiastically.  _Careful agent your fanboy is showing._

"Yeah now that we're on that subject how is he alive? Everyone agreed that crash 70 years ago would have killed him. Not that I want you dead cap I'm just curious." Tony got out before they moved the conversation on. 

Fury slid over another folder.  _They sure do like killing trees._  "Here's all you need to know Iron Man. This is a recent development to us as well." Tony picked up the folder to go through after the meeting ended. Should be an interesting read. 

"Alright that's all for today. You will be hearing from us soon Iron Man and I expect not to be waiting so long next time" Fury sent him one last glare and slipped out of the room. Coulson started to follow before turning to face him.

"We're giving Captain Rogers your number. It’s important you two stay in contact. This is the number he is using." Coulson put a piece of paper on the table before walking out. Tony scanned the number to be added into his contacts when he noticed Rogers was still there.

"Well uh I guess I'll see you soon Iron Man." He said awkwardly making the statement sound more like a question.  _Poor guy is so unsure I wonder where he's been all these years. In a coma perhaps? Makes sense with the catching up on 70 years comment._  

"Sure thing Cap" Tony replied with a smile despite him not being able to see it. Maybe he heard it even through the vocal filters because he gave small smile before walking away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter involves animal gore. I don't go into details with it but just thought I'd give a warning in case that bothers someone.

"Ironman! I'm getting a little crowded down here. Mind giving me a hand?" 

Tony headed back towards the captain's location. He found him surrounded by the weird mutated animals they had been fighting for the past hour. "Right here Cap" He answered as he landed behind Steve to cover his back.  Wordlessly they moved into position and reflected his repulser blast off Cap's shield. It didn't take long until they were surrounded by animal corpses. 

"You guys might wanna head up a couple blocks. Some of them are heading into a residential area." 

"Roger that Hawkeye. You want a lift Winghead?" 

Steve turned to him with a big smile and grabbed onto the armor. They got there just in time to save a couple of dumb teenagers who were out filming the battle. 

"Ugh kids these days. Do we really need to film everything?" Tony mused, narrowly missing a lunge by one of the animals.

"Careful there Shellhead, people will think you're an old man under there." Steve joked breathlessly.

"Eh that's hardly the craziest theory I've heard on my identity." 

"That's true. The current popular theory at SHIELD is that you're actually a really advanced A.I. inside a robotic body." The archer -Hawkeye- added in. "You didn't hear that from me though." 

"An A.I? Yes before you make fun of me I do know what an A.I is Ironman. I just don't know how they would believe you to be one. You're far too-"

"Annoying? Snarky? Obviously far less funny than me?" Hawkeye cut in.

"Uh excuse you. He was going to say I'm awesome" Tony replied. 

Hawkeye scoffed but before he could get out a reply Steve cut back in. "Actually I was going to say human. You have so much personality, I don't see how that could be artificial." 

"Hmm... But I'm also awesome though right?" 

Steve let out an exaggerated sigh "Yes you're also awesome."

"Yay! Suck it Birdbrain." Tony stuck his tongue out at him behind the faceplate.

Before they could start another argument Steve intervened. "Ok guys let's cut the chatter we've almost got them wiped out."

"Aye aye Captain" Tony said cheerfully while taking out three more of the beasts. He took to the sky to search for any stragglers. "I think we've got this area cleared out. You see any left Hawkeye?" 

"Negative, they all seem to be down." 

"Fantastic. Let's pick out a more intact one to bag up. We need to examine these things and find out who's playing Frankenstein."

"Yeah... I'll leave that one to you guys down there. My perch has far less blood and guts. SHIELD should be here soon for cleanup." 

"Well I hope they aren't as squeamish as you Hawkeye." Tony replied as he looked around the animal bodies. Finally SHIELD made their dramatic entrance and he pointed out a couple less pulverized bodies to bag up. "Alright this was fun, go team! So I think I'll go take a shower now...” He started trailing off as he took a few steps back. He was just about to take off and fly home when a voice cut over coms. 

"Don't try it Ironman. You know you have mission debrief immediately after every battle." Tony rolled his eyes.  _Damn pirate I was so close._

"I think an exception should be made. I'm covered in roadkill and in desperate need of a rinse down."

"Hey at least it’s not actually touching you though" Steve grimaced as he wiped at a tear in his uniform.

"Yeah but I have to clean the suit later. The longer I have to wait the worse it's going to be." Tony made a face thinking of the process after the last fight. It had been slightly smaller animals but it was no less messy to clean.

"I don't want excuses! Just get your shiny ass to the conference room!" Tony sighed but gave Cap a salute and flew back to headquarters. Hopefully he could rinse off some of the gunk before the others made it back. 

When he made it to HQ he immediately found a private bathroom. "Alright J, you know the drill. Block any bugs transmitting within this radius." Tony thought for a moment. "While you're at it get me files on an agent, codename Hawkeye."

"Very well sir. The area is secure and I've started the search." Tony nodded and gestured for the suit to open. He showered first before spraying down the suit the best he could with the time limit. He was just getting back in the suit when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey C3PO hurry it up you can fix up your makeup later." Hawkeye -or Clint Barton as JARVIS helpfully popped up in his HUD- yelled.

"I'll be right there honey!" Tony replied as he glanced at the information about the archer. He didn't seem shady but after Ob- Stane, he had some considerable trust issues. It was also his first time meeting the guy so he was curious, you really can't blame him.

Tony walked into the conference room just as Barton was sitting down. Steve was already sitting in his usual chair. He had changed out of his uniform and was wearing a damp looking white T-shirt that was halfway to being see through. His hair was wet and slightly dripping like he had quickly run from the shower for this meeting. Tony was once again grateful for having his face covered as he stared far too long trying to memorize the moment.  _Okay so his silly childhood crush on Cap may have returned oops._

Cap seemed to sense him staring and finally looked over at him with a smile.  _God he's gorgeous_. Before he could put his foot in his mouth Fury entered the room. 

The debrief was mostly identical to the previous one aside from the addition of Hawkeye. After an hour Fury relented -with a glare of course- and released them until there was more information. Tony said his goodbyes to Steve and Barton and started to head into the hall only to bump into someone. "Sorry about that. Are you alright?" He didn't think he could injure someone moving at that speed but with the suit who knows.

A beautiful redhead looked up from under her lashes at him. "I'm fine" she answered sliding her hand down his arm before sauntering away. Before Afghanistan that exchange would've ended very differently. Now he wasn't even tempted, she couldn't compare to Pepper. She did capture his attention in another way though. 

"Hey J look up her file as well."


	6. Chapter 6

Natasha Romanov the Black Widow. 

Tony wasn't sure what to expect after colliding with her but it wasn't this. After flying back home and having dinner with Pepper, he retreated to his workshop to clean the armor off properly. He had JARVIS project her file for him while he worked. It was turning out to be an interesting read. He had been suspicious of her -or well more suspicious than usual- because of her flirting with him. 

He was used to getting that reaction as Tony Stark 'rich playboy extraordinaire'. That was not an expected reaction to Ironman 'charming superhero but still just an anonymous guy in a metal suit'. Or if she went by SHIELD's current theory 'an actual robot'.  _Who knows maybe she has a weird kink._

After seeing her file it made a lot more sense. She was testing him, trying to get a read on who or what exactly he is. She was on the list of candidates for the Avengers Initiative and had just been approved to join. SHIELD was far too confident in their security and seemed to have even her current missions listed. Her priority was to join and assist the Avengers but also try to get a read on his identity. 

He found multiple 'Personality Assessments' on Ironman also. Someone had noted as much of his behavior as they could and categorized it under male, female and robot. The female category was the most sparse, mainly consisting of jokes he had made. The other two were longer and pretty entertaining to read through. It seems they had narrowed it to male or robot and were counting on the Black Widow to find the truth.  _Surely she will have other methods besides flirting with me. I mean yeah she's hot, but just because I don't make a move doesn't make me a robot._  He was very tempted to mess with her but she did seem kinda scary so maybe not.

As he was contemplating, his music suddenly shut off. He looked up to see Pepper walking towards him with a stack of papers. "Hey honey!" Tony directed a huge smile her way and got up to give her a kiss. "Please tell me those papers aren't for me. Come check out the new Stark phone 10. You get the first one- well second one but still-"

Pepper playfully slapped his shoulder "Yes they are for you. Stop trying to distract me, I know what you're up to."  _Ok time to employ the puppy eyes._

"Pepper I just got out of a battle, I was injured." 

Pepper glanced pointedly at his work station with the pieces of armor strewn across it. "You seem to be able to work just fine."

"That's different Pep! I've been building all my life. It’s in my blood."

"Yes what was I thinking? It's much more difficult to sign your name. I'm sure you've hardly had to do that at all." She said trying to fight a smile. 

Tony pouted and laid his head on her shoulder. "Okay, okay I'll sign the papers. Anything for you miss Potts."

Pepper smiled and ran her hand through his hair. "Thank you Mr. Stark." Her gaze narrowed as she noticed the hologram floating behind him. "Who is this?" She gestured at the image of agent Romanov. 

"Ah, looks like I'll be getting a new teammate." He replied following her as she moved to inspect the information.

"Tony, from what it says here she plans to honeypot you." Pepper sounded offended.

"Yeah I know. Looks like SHIELD is pretty desperate for info on me." Pepper turned to give him a look. "What? What does that look mean? You don't think I'd fall for it do you?"

"No Tony I know you won't do that. The look was meant to be a deterrent from whatever plans you're making to mess with her."

Tony tried for his most innocent expression. "I don't know what you mean Pep. I know better than to mess with scary Russian assassins."

"Hmm maybe I'd believe you if I didn't know you have zero self-preservation instincts." 

Tony had to give her that one. "Okay I won't lie I did consider it." Pepper started to open her mouth so he continued quickly. "But! I decided that would be a terrible idea. See Pep, you don't have to worry so much. You're a good influence. I could pretty much hear you in my head saying 'no Tony' to all my ideas."

Pepper shook her head but smiled at him fondly. "Perfect. That voice better stick with you since I can't follow you around constantly anymore." 

It was a weird transition in the beginning. From having Pepper as a constant presence by his side, to now only seeing her most evenings unless he was out on Avengers business. He missed all the shared time together but he wouldn't change the rest of it. Rhodey had thought he'd eventually miss the parties and lifestyle but Tony knew that part of his life was over. None of the flashy things really brought meaning to his life anyway. He kept the truly important things -Pepper, Rhodey, the bots- and added a few new ones -Iron Man and the Avengers team- that was all he needed. 

"I'm sure it will babe." he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss into her hair. "Let's get this paperwork out of the way so we can enjoy the rest of our night together." She handed over the stack and he began signing them all barely looking at the contents. Pepper was one of the very few people he completely trusted so there was no need. "It seems like even more than last time. Do we really need every one of these?" He asked as he finally reached the bottom of the pile. 

"Yes Tony there is significant paperwork for every item SI produces. That's all your fault really." Tony's head snapped up at the remark and she continued. "If you weren't such a workaholic, we would have less new products and therefore paperwork." 

Tony thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it then." He straightened the papers up and placed them on the table he designated for Pepper. "I think I got a hand cramp. Come and kiss it better." He smirked at her but she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go to bed Tony."


	7. Chapter 7

"Nice I think I've just about got it now. DUM-E grab me that torque wrench!" There was a beep in response followed by the sound of several tools falling to the workshop floor. "Hey careful or I'll turn you into a coat rack!" That comment resulted in a squeal before DUM-E rolled up and stuck a red bandana in his face. Tony stared at it before sighing and taking the offered item to wipe his face. "I really shouldn't be surprised anymore. Hey buddy nice try, how about you make me a smoothie now?" This earned an excited several beeps before the bot spun away to find the blender. 

"If I may sir, the bandana is the same shade of red as the handle on the wrench" JARVIS chimed in helpfully.  
"Well I guess he's got colors down then, just not shapes" Tony smiled being amused at his old bot. He moved to get up when U came over with the torque wrench. "Good boy" he patted the bot smiling as it preened before finally finishing up the car. "Alright J mark the Stark 11 finished."

"Oh good you're finished, perfect timing. I have some things for you to look at." Pepper said as his music was suddenly silenced.

"Hey don't attack me with paperwork! I said a project was finished not all my projects" Tony replied as he tried to walk to the other side of the workshop hoping in vain she would give up.

"Yes that's true; don't forget this paperwork is also one of your projects just because you don't enjoy it." She replied as she followed him undeterred. He turned around to give her puppy eyes and she stared back straight faced. After several moments he gave in and took the papers.

"You're a monster to subject me to this torture Potts! I thought you cared about me." The engineer declared over dramatically. Pepper just shook her head slightly smiling at her boyfriend’s antics. Just as he sat down an alert popped up in front of him. 

"Yes! An Avengers mission! Sorry honey looks like paperwork will have to wait a little longer." He jumped up and headed for his suit in record time. He looked over his shoulder and saw Pepper frowning. "Don't be upset, I promise I'll get all these papers sorted out when I'm done okay?"

Pepper walked over and held him tight. "It's not the paperwork I'm worried about. Stay safe please." She gave him a kiss before turning around, the tapping of her heels announcing her departure. 

Tony always felt bad running out on her but this was important. He watched the updates on the situation come in as he suited up. There had been an explosion downtown that affected several nearby buildings and left civilians trapped. Shield had agents on the ground already, along with Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Iron Man connected to their coms as he headed their direction. "You guys find any reason for the explosion yet?"

Steve's breathless voice was the first to respond. "Iron Man glad you can make it. We haven't had time for that yet; we're focused on rescue at the moment. There are a lot of panicked people out here."

"Hey Tinman! I don't know a reason but from the way it tore up the pavement over here I’d say it originated underground." Clint chimed in before cursing as part of a building collapsed. 

"We'll worry about that later after we get this area evacuated. Just get here quick Iron Man." Natasha advised.

"I'm coming up on your location now." Tony glanced around the area before landing by Widow and helping her lift a chunk of concrete off a mans leg while she pulled him out. The next few hours went by like that. Finding more seriously injured people as they made their way deeper. "This should be the last building we haven't cleared." Tony said heading for the building that appeared to take the least damage. He made his way into the building only to stop immediately at the gaping hole in the floor revealing another level. "Uh guys... I think I found where the explosion originated." 

"What it came from in here? This one doesn't even look that- Whoa!" Hawkeye cut himself off as he approached the damage. "Okay yeah I agree it was definitely here. At least this looks more like a business building so maybe there weren't many people here since it's this late." Steve and Natasha came up and surveyed the damage as Clint spoke.

"We still need to check the building. Hawkeye and Widow I want you to sweep the upper floors. Iron Man and I will search down here." Captain said before turning to Tony. "You ready Shellhead?"

"Of course Winghead, grab on" Cap immediately complied and they flew down and landed safely in the blackened basement. "Well I'm glad I have a flashlight" he joked gesturing at the arc reactor in his chest. Steve tried to hide his smile but Tony heard him chuckle. 

"Yes I seem to have forgotten mine. I'm glad you're always thinking ahead” Steve said fondly.

"If you two are done flirting I’d like to report that Nat and I did a full sweep and there wasn't anyone upstairs. We're headed back down now." 

Steve sputtered a bit before responding "affirmative Hawkeye, we're still looking down here but it's almost completely destroyed." As he said that, he was able to make out something that looked like a door. "Iron man could you face that way for me please?" He asked pointing at the door. Tony agreed and they both headed for the door. It was jammed -probably from the explosion- but it came open with enough force. Steve was instantly bent over gagging from the horrid smell coming from the room. 

"Cap! What's wrong?" Iron man said panicked as he tried to find an injury on him. Clint and Nat were both on coms trying to find out what happened.

"Do you not smell that?" Steve finally got out after moving away from the door.

"No the suit filters out smells. Would you look at that, I really did come prepared for this mission didn't I?" Tony tried to joke. "I got this one cap." He led Steve further away from the door before heading back to see what's inside. "Ew... I think we found the lab of whoever is playing Frankenstein with the animals."

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! ~waves
> 
> So this is my first story. I don't have it all planned out but I wanted to post what I've got before I forget it all as I'm prone to doing. (R.I.P. to my other story ideas) I'm not much of a writer so I apologize for errors and let me know if you have any suggestions. 
> 
> I'm thinking I'll start this story off with Pepper/Tony. It probably won't end that way but who knows! I have Steve/Tony tagged as the most likely pairing but feel free to comment on that too if you'd like.


End file.
